1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a machine for piercing a taphole for a shaft furnace, designed for the implementation of the method called "lost rod method" in which, after having blocked the taphole with a taphole clay, a metal rod is driven into this clay, before it has fully hardened, and it is extracted, at the desired time, with a view to opening the taphole. The said machine comprises a mounting for supporting the rod during the said method, a drive means mounted on the mounting so as to develop a traction force or thrust force respectively parallel to the mounting, a coupling member for coupling the said drive means to the rod so as to transmit the said traction force to it during its extraction.